Machine for grade-marking died-out leather pieces.



B. P. NICHOLS. MACHINE FOB. GRADE MARKING DIED-OUT LEATHER men's.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28, 1912. L1% 37 ented July 21, 19m

5 $HEBTS-SHET 1.

ibflwasses gay 0V4 M wed/Q E. P. NICHOLS. GRADE MARKING DIED-OUT LEATHER. PIECES. APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 28, 1912.

MACHINE FOR mwsm Patented. July 21,1914.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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H lHlllHHHI E. P. NICHOLS. MACHINE FOR GRADE MARKING DIED-OUT LEATHER PIECES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28, 1912.

Patented $1137.21, 1914.

5 sannzrs-snsm a.

1 MM 378D E. P. NICHOLS. MAGHINB FOR GRADE. MARKING DIED-OUT LEATHER PIECES.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 28, 1912.

1 14fi78 Patented July 21, 1914. 5 $HBETSSHEBT 4.

E. P. -NIGHOL$. MACHINE FOR GRADE MARKING DIED-OUT LEATHER PIECES.

APPLICATION TILED MAR. 28, 1912.

' Patented July 21, 1914.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

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ELMER'P. NICHOLS, OF .MANGHESTER,

m wsama assesses To n w MANUrAcr'unINe COMPANY, or MANCHESTER, ew n mgsmne, A 3

v RATION 0F MAINE.

mAcnINE FOB. GRADE-MARKING DEED-011M Lia-Ariana linens.

Specification of am seme t. p t e a g 1. 14,

Original application filed February a7, 1908, Serial-Nb. 4ms,ous.- mm and dih'ls application mm mama as, 1,912. Ser1a1-No.6 &6,919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELMER P. NICHOLS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Manchester, in the county of Hillsboro and State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improvement in Machines for Grade-Mark ing Died-Out Leather Pieces, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification,

like letters onthe drawmgs'representing like arts.

p My present invention relates to evening and grading machines, whose purpose, use and general construction are set forth at length in my Reissue Patent N 0. 12,288 and later Patents Nos. 841,809, 1,009,988, and 1,046,213, this applicationbeing a division of my application Serial No. 418,008, filed February 27, 1908, now Patent No. 1,057,358, and being restricted to the grade-marking features of the invention, whose broader claims, specific claims to the evening mechanism, and combination claims which involve both the evening and marking mechanisms are contained in the parent case.

extended description of the machine in general and the various advantages of the invenlongitudinal vertlcal sectional view of the I machine; Figs. 2 and -3 are vertical crosssectional views taken respectively an the lines 22 and 33 Fi 1; Fig. 4 is a righthand side elevation f t is a left-hand side elevation ofthe machine;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation of. the clutch mechanism; and Fig.6 is a top- ,provide an equalizer 'spring '14; located cen- Etrally for maintaining the feeler roll 3 in plan View of the machine The machine in general consists ,of much the same parts and general organization as my above mentioned patents, particularly the last mentioned, saidflparts however, being arranged and coordinated ently. Mounted in the frame 1 at :the ingoing end of the inachine are upper and lower feed rolls 2, 3, the latter constitutin a feeler roll or leatherdetecting device, "(for detecting thin spots, 2'. e. portions or places sufficiently thinner than an adjacent place of Accordingly I refer to the parent case for the more he machine; Fig. 5-

quite differthe stock to permit relative movement 'of the rolls 2, 3 toward each other at that spot) and being mounted in vertical movable "bearvings 4 at its opposite ends guided in ways 5 :m the frame,and the former roll 2 having its journal bearings 6 normally stationary or fixed but adjustable at its opposite ends 'by :any suitable means, as by threaded :bolts 7, Q

8, free to rotate, but immovable lengthwise, in a frame head 9, said adjusting bolts havmg worm ends 10 at their upper ends engaged by worms 11 fast on the opposite ends of a transverse shaft 12 made angular to be .readily grasped for turning by hand. lhe

top roll 2 is preferably plain or smooth, and the bottom roll slightly corrugated or scored. The yertical-ly movable roll 3 which constitutes-the main feeler device or engagingportion of the feeler'mechanism is connected by any suitable-meansto the transmitting mech- :anism for transmitting the varying thick- .nesses detected by the feeler mechanism,- said means being "herein shown, and :preferably consisting of, a bridge or yoke 13 bolted ,at its opposite ends tothe adjacent journal bearings 4 ofthe roll and normally held up- .1 ward by a heavy central equalizer spn'ng 14,

,capable of delicate adjustment by means of a bolt 15 operatingthrough a fixed portion 16 -,of the main frame of the machine, whereby gthe roll 3 may be given exactly the right pressure, and no more, necessary for accomfplishing the most effective thickness-detect- Eing results.

The feeler mechanism is arran ed to engage the flesh side or-under side-o the piece of stock, which is always the side containihg the unevennesses of the leather, and the marking mechanism is arranged to operate ion the upper or skin side ofthe stock; and in connection with the feeler mechanism I @perfect {balance as it engages the stock, said ,centrally mounted spring 514 being independjent of all the. rest of the mechanism, e. it glS inonnted directly on the frame of the ma ,chine and transmits its pressure directly to Ethe roll 3, and therefore does not bring any jstrains or wear upon any portionof the train- ,of transmittin mechanism. The latter con- ,isists .of depen ing -feeler-poet's von detectorrods 17, 18 having heads 19' delicately adjustable by nuts on the ends of said I osts', said posts passing through slots or ho cs 21 I the slot 27 of the arm 26. Fast on said shaft 30 is a wheel 31'-and pinion, or rather sector, 32, the former constituting part of the look-- ing means for locking the gage adjuster mechanism and the latter engaging a rack 33 whose opposite end 34 serves to rotate a pinion 35 which operates the die or grade-mark.- ing mechanism and sets the skiving mechanism. I

The pinion 35 is fast on a shaft 36 provided with a pinion 37 engaging a rack bar 38 provided with Wedges or inclines 39 cooperating with opposite inclines or wedges 40 on the upper sides of the journal boxes 41 of the gage roll or pressure device 42 and acting as stop-means for positively limiting the upward movement of said pressure device 42. A spring 43 connected at one end to the 'bar 38 and at the other end to a stationary post prevents back play.

The marking roll or-die 44 carries a pinion 45 in mesh with a toothed sector 46 mounted to swing from a pivot 47 in the cross bar 48 of the head 49 which carries the mark-' 1 ing die or roll, said toothed sector being swung by an arm 50 pivoted at 51 to the outer end of the rack 38, and said head 49 raised by a cam 52 engaging a plunger 53 depending from the cross bar 48, which is held under constant downward tendency by springs 54. This mechanism, however,

as ust described, has proved in practice liable to error, as the necessarily sudden movements due to the rapid passing of a piece of stock in engagement with the feeler mechanism has caused the swinging sector 46 and rotary die to tend to-vibrate or chatter and rebound more or less, so that it has been liable to make false marks, and

v ordingly I have succeeded in entirely.

preventing this uncertainty and liability to error, and etwithout decreasing the speed of the machine andthe rapidityzof its execution, simply by introducing an oil check I on friction retarding device 55. Any of the well known friction retarding devices may be employed for this purpose, my invention,

so far as this detail is concerned, not iesiding in the kind of friction device employed,

but in providing means for insuring that,

notwithstanding the suddenness of positive as end, see Fig. 1, withmarks, and this taken in connection with practical necessity of runnlng my machine movement and the resulting momentum of the'swinging and rotating parts of the marking mechanlsm, the latter shall stop precisely at the point corresponding to the determination of the feeler mechanism and shall be accurate, definite and certain notwithstanding the delicacy and exceedingly 's mall difierences of thickness determined and marked. The oil check 55 consists of a closedcylinder 56 containing a piston 57 and piston rod 58 whose upper end is pivoted at 59 to the sector 32. A quarter-iron, half-iron, and in facteven a whole iron or still coarser measurement of leather is nevertheless such a slight difierence in thickness (an iron being one forty-eighth of an inch) that, in order'clearly to stamp the successive grade marks distinctly from each other on the leather pieces I have constructed the grade-marking mechanism, so as to amplify the movement of the marker'tofsuch an eX-" tent that, notwithstanding the exceedingly slight movement at the feeler mechanismend of the machine, the grade marker will be compelled to move for each increment of. measurement a sufliciently great distance to make certain that the correct mark and no other will be imparted to the leather and not a portion 01'': two marks or possibly of thrlee t e at high speed in order to accomplish the work which is required of it according to the usual shoe factory practice, and the necessarily strong and therefore somewhat heavy construction f of the movable parts,

originally made it exceedingly diflicult to obtain accuracy of marking, as'incorrectness would result at times in apparently inexplicable ways, which proved -practically insurmount-able until I discovered that these errors were due, not to incorrectness of mechanism, but mainly to the give or yield and spring of the metal under the exceedingly sudden starting and stopping movements to' which the moving parts are subjected in the practical running of the machine. I make this explanation because I wish it understood that my invent-ion does not reside in providing a dashpot as such, but in discovering the cause of the previous uncertainties and errors in the grade-marking results of the machine, and in discovering that said uncertainties and errors could be entirely eliminatedsimply by interposing a strong friction device in the train'of trans missionmechanism adjacent the gr ding end of the machine, Operating to absor and take up the sudden s 00k and thereby" prevent transmitting it to the marking wheel. As

to the changing position of the feel'er mocha-I nism, the

shaft 30 and sector 32 are given a, corresponding sudden impulse which is received and held against modification by the firm frictional resistance of the friction wedges or inclines,

device -58 so that, notwithstanding the momentum of the swinging sector 46, rotary marking wheel or die 44, and the return influence of the spring 43 and influence of the spring 127, etc., the various parts of the grading mechanism simply move forward the exactedistance required by said forward movement of the ratchet wheel 31 and not the slightest distance more, so that. when the marking die or wheel is tripped, the required die number is in truly vertical position and not an adjacent improperdie number, and what is of still greater consequence, the die wheel is still and not imperceptibly chattering or trembling with a rotary vibration as before,

Thelower roll which serves to the stock against the gage roll 42 to be skived by theskiving knlfe 61 is also mounted in sliding bearings 62 and is yieldingly supported as in my previous machine, but instead of being sup orted by springs located at the ends of t e roll under thejournal bearings thereof, I secure to said journal bearings a yoke 63 which extends beneath the roll 60, and mount the supporting springs 65 much closer together than before,

as clearly shown in Fig. 3, said springs en-' gaging said yoke as nearly as practicable.

beneath the path where the edges of the workwill. ass when traveling between the two rolls, t e lower ends of the springs being supported adjustablyv in any suitable manner, as byrbolts 66 adjustable in a cross bar 67 fast on the frame of the machine, and the opposite ends oftheyoke and hence of the rail 60 being adjustably limited in their upward movementbybolts or links 68 passing through said cross bar, beneath which are nuts 69. Byhavin the springs 65 thus located under the wor they always keep the roll against the stock even thoughthe variations in relative thichess between the opposite edges of the stock should be extreme. As the gage roll 42 is. freely mov able within the limits set by the limiting it Jappliesa uniform pressure to the leather and accomplishes the various additional, functions ofoperating the gate, tripping the marking portion of the grading mechanism, and preventing the accidental escape of stock from themachine without bein aded in some way. To prevent the s 'vings followin the roll 60 l have provided grpoves 76 in he roll 60, in which stripfping rear face 0 the yo clamped by a bar 72; a

Referring again to .the. grade-markin mechanism, the cam 52 :is positively rotate by a train of gears 73, 74, 75, 76, the latter being in the form :if a sprin clutch nor- 63 to which they are mally impelled by its spring" 7 :to engage hold at fingers 71 extend from the the clutch end 78 of a pinion 79 directly driven by the main shaft 80, said clutch gear 76 being normally restrained by a pivoted device 81 held by a spring 82, all as in m copending Patent No. 1,009,988 (althoug herein claimed), but in the machine of my cam plate or combined stop and restraining said patent, l have found in practice that I lhe cam plate 81 has a forward portion 83 in "which slides a latch 84 normally held downward by a spring 85 in position to be engaged by a dog 86 pivoted at 87 to the frame and actuated by a link 88 extending upward from a bar 89 pivoted at 90 to the side of the frame and connected at 91 to a rod 92 having a strap 93 around the journal end of the upper roll 42. The latch 84 1s outwardly bent at its upper end 95 to overhang the projecting end or finger 96 of a lever 97 pivoted at 98 and extending in position to' be tripped by a pin 99 projectlng from the pinion 73 which operatea-the dieactuating camv 552. By this mechapism, whenever the gage roll 42 is raised by the passage of apiece of stock, the dog 86 instantly swings the cam plate 81 out of restraining engagement with the radially projecting roll a of the clutch gear 76, thereby permitting the spring 77 to throw in the clutch and hence permitting the train of gears 76, 75, 74, 73 to actuate the marking die for'one marking, but as the ear 78 makes one revolution, as required for said one marking, its stop pin 99 causes the stop lever 97 to raise the latch 84 out of engagement with the dog 86, with the result that instantly the cam plate or stop device 81 is retracted by its spring 82, and thereby-the marking mechanism is absolutely stopped. When the cam plate is retracted, its inclined face or edge engages the radial roll w of the sliding rotary clutch member 76, which engagement instantly draws said member to the right, Fig. 5, to inoperative position so that thedie wheel 44 cannot operate a sec- 0nd time for the same piece of stock.

The bar 89 is normally counterbalanced by aspring 100 and its forward end carries 'a pivoted lifting rod 101' normally held forward by a spring 102 in lifting engagement beneath a; crank 103 for holding the gate a 104 raised or open which controls the feeding of the stock'to the machine. Thus said ate is; lifted to permlt the entrance of a fresh piece of stock each time that the graded piece of stock passes from beneath a the roll 42 .the previous raising of the roll 42 by the outgoing stock having rocked lemission lever 22, it being remembered that the latter isdepressed each time a piece of stock enters the machine and moves downward the roll 3 and feeler posts or detector rods 17, 18 away from the roll 2.

In front of the gate I have placed a longer feed table than before, as herein indicated at 107, and have provided opposite length guides 10S simultaneously adjusted toward and from each other by a ri ht and left threaded screw 109 in order that the -stock may always be entered straight into the machine and all the ieces in'the same path. By this means uni orlnity of grading with relation to the edges of the stock is secured by passing the edges of successive piecesalways over the feeler mechanism in precisely the same relation to the center thereof. r

In my before mentioned patent, means for centering the stock was provided, but in spite of said means the stock could swing around and vary its position, and hence vary the gradmgto some extent, whereas by having the elongated parallel guides and extended table the feeding is compelled to be central over the entire length of each piece of stock. Pivoted to the gate 10s is a link 110 for operating a locking dog. 111 normally held down by a spring 112; and operating, when the gate 104 falls, to engage the teeth 113 and thereby lock the locking wheel 31 so as 'to prevent further transmission of thinness measurementas determined by the feeler mechanism. The oppositely extending teeth 114 of the ratchet wheel 31 are located to be engaged by a pawl 115 pivoted at'116 and normally moved into engaging position'bya spring 117 when released by a rod-l18. extending from an arm 119 projecting rigidly from a shaft 120 at whose 1 opposite end is a rod 121 on which is ad engaged b just-ably mounted a foot or shoe 122 .to be the forward end of the stock asit is fed t rough the machine, said engage-- ment with the forward end of the stock 4 serving to rock the shaft 120, raising the.

rod 118 so as to release the pawl 115 and cause its lower end to engage "the teeth 114:.

of the ratchet wheel 31 and thereafter permit said ratchet wheel to be moved by the transmission lever 22 only in a direction corresponding to successive increments of th1nness detected by the feeler mechanism. The

position minesthe given point in the length of the stock from which the feeler mechanism shall begin to be operative. I omit herein an exhaustive explanation of .these functions, as said explanation is found fully set forth in my above mentioned patents. Presser plate 123'co6perat es with a feed chain 121 in facilitating the feeding of the stock from the feeler feed rolls to the gage roll and skiving mechanism, being held yieldingly by springs 125 and bolts 126 at its opposite ends. The transmission. plate 22 is delicately adjusted by a spring 127 and thumb screw- 128 in the end of a bracket 129 mounted for convenience on the lower end of the screw'15. v

Because of the slotted construction 27 and of said shoe or foot 122 thus deter- A shoe or the arrangement of the adjacent parts of j the trhnsmission mechanism, it willbe seen that as soon as a piece of stock has passed out of engagement with the lower feed roll or feeler device 3, said roll and its connected parts are at once automatically restored by the spring 14 to work-receiving position, but the grade-setting mechanism is maintained set by the ratchet wheel 31 acting as a locking wheel until the work has been grademarked and skived, whereupon these parts are automatically restored to normal position. In other words, as soon as the stock has been measured or its relative thickness and thinness determined by the feeler mechanism, said feeler mechanism is automatically restored to normal position \independently of the grade-marking and skiving mechanisms, which remain set until they in turn have "performed their functions. By thus rendering, to a degree, these various mechanisms independent of each other, and subdividing the movements of the machine, the gage roll and the rest of the grading mechanism at he rear end of the machine are relieved o the strain or undue work brought upon them by the mechanism of my former machines, in which the tension spring at the front end of the machine held all the parts under-continuous tension from the entrance the machine until it left present invention, the

mechanism is not required to remain under strain after the performance of its functions,

but is restored to. normal posit-ion before that portion of said remaining mechanism which is at the rear end of the machine has finished performing :its functions. .This provision condupes materla'lly to the delicacy and accuracy of grading. r

The machine is' controlled through fast. and loose pulleys 130, 131 onthemain shaft 80 from which atrain of-gears'132, 133, 134:,

14 is independent of mergers roll .60 is positively driven by a gear 138 in.

mesh with the gear 132, and the gage roll 42 is driven by a gear 139 in mesh with the gear 7 9, and the driving chain 124 is driven by a sprocket chain 140 passing over a sprocket wheel 141 on the rear driving shaft 142 of said sprocket chain 124, and over a sprocket wheel 143 on the shaft of the lower roll 60. A further feature of importance resides in providing additional means for materially decreasing the pressure on the stock when it is first ut into the machine and for decreasing t e resistance of, the initial movements of the grading mechanism, said means, although capable of various embodiments, being herein shown as consisting of-a bolt 144 held by a check nut 145 adjustable in a cross piece 146'at the rear end of the machine in line with the rear end of the rack bar34 so that the head 147 of said bolt positively limits the rearward movement of said rack bar, see Fig. 4. ,By this means, in

addition to the other functions just mentioned, the parts of the macliine may be set so as to prevent grading below any desired minimum measurement. By screwing the bolt outward or foi'wardthe rack bar is prevented from moving suficiently rearward when the machine is at rest to permit the cam stops 0r stepped inclines 39, 40, coming in contact, and hence, the latter being out of contact when the stock is putin the machine,- the initial starting movement is free and lwithout the drag and tendency to stick or cling to each other which would be the case if said inclines were left in contact with each other.

The operation of the machine has already been quite fully set forth and may be briefly summarized as follows: The gate 104 being in its normal upraisgd position, the operator inserts the leather piece between the positioning devices or:length guides 108 so that its leading end will engage between the rolls .2, 3. Thisoperates to separate the rolls,.z'.'e.= to lower the feeler roll 3 and thereby permit the lever 22, under the influence of its spring 127, to rotate'ithe ratchet wheel 31 contraclockwise a distance corresponding with the eXtent to which the leather piece has thus separated the rolls 2 and 3. The leather piece is fed rearward in themachine by the rolls 2, 3, and as its leading end strikes the trip or foot T122, the latter is raised, and thereby, through the parts 121, 120, 119,

'118, 115 and 117, brings the pawl 115 intoengagement with the teeth 11401?- the' ratchet wheel 31 (which, as justpointed out, has already been turned s'uficiently therefor by the entrance of the stock betweenthe rolls 2, 3). As the leather piece now continues to travel rearward between said rolls, if a length into the machine, thereby permitting the gate 104 to fall, the latter, through the connection 110, causes the pawl 111 to engage the locking teeth 113 of the ratchet wheel 31 in oppositionto the engagement of the teeth 114 by the pawl 115, so that said ratchet wheel cannot thereafter move in either direction until after the leather piece has been marked. Meanwhile the 'ciockwise turning of the ratchet wheel 31, as it has successively taken up or measured the successive increments of thinness of the leather piece, has correspondingly set the marking mechanism through the train of parts 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 50, 46, and 45. When the leading end of the leather pi ce reaches the rolls 42,

60, it enters between them and instantly raises the roll 42, thereby, through the parts 93, '92, 89, 88, and 86, disengaging the cam plate 81 from the roli a: of the clutch gear 7 6 whose spring 7 7 then instantly slides said gear to the left, Fig. 5 into driven engage- Eldement with the member 78 of the gear 79.

' This causes the train of gears 76, 75, 74, and

73 to'rotate, the latter serving to rotate the lifter earn 52 over to the left Fig. 1, thereby releasing the plunger 53 of the head 49',

which instantly "falls under the influence of the springs 54, and is instantly raised by the engagement'of the lifter cam 52 with the lower end of the plunger 53. But in the instant that the head 49 tell, it thereby caused the marking wheel 44 to mark the top side of the leather piece with the grade mark to which said marina-g wheel had been set; The marker is instantly raised and stopped 'by its actuating mechanism, including the roll or pin 99 which engages the left hand endof the levei 97,- Fig. 5, and thereby raises the everhanging end 95 of the latch 84 out of engagement with the dog 86 so as plate "81 back into engaging relation with the clutch member 76 which cam plate serves to retract the clutch member and stop further movement oi the actuating .mechanism of the marker. Theleather iece now continues onthrough; and out o the ma permit the spring 82 to swing the cam its chine. at itescape'sih erh'bene'ath the rollthe 42, the latter falls and thereby restores the dog 86 to the position shown in Fig. 5 andalso raises the gate 104 to permit another leather piece to be fed into the machine.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a machine of the kind described,

feeler mechanism located to operate on 'theunder side of a piece of stock to determine thinnesses therein, and grade-marking mechanism arranged to operate on the upper side of said stock, connections between the aforesaid mechanisms including means rendering the marking mechanism responsive only to the final determination of said feeler mechanisr'n in-ieeling of a number of difi'erent thinnesses. v I

2. In a machinezof the kind described, the

combination With detecting mechanism, of. grading mechanism responsive thereto for indicating the grade of the leather piece,

starting means to set in motion said grading mechanism and mechanism for positively limiting the grading mechanism toone grading movement for one starting operation.

3. In a machine of the kind described, the combination with detecting mechanism, of grading mechanism responsive thereto and including a marker, operating means for said marker, including starting means to set in motion said operating means, and

means for positivelystopping the marker after it has performed afsingle marking movement. i V

4:. In a machine of thekind described; the

combination with detecting mechan1sm., to

operate on a piece ofleather, of a grade marker and connections responsive to said detecting mechanism,- and means for starting the marking movement of said marker,

, including means adapted to be engaged by markerand connections responsive thereto,

the piece ofleather and movable thereby.

In a machine of the kind described, the

combination with detecting mechanism to operate on a piece of leather, of a gradeand means for starting the marking movement of said 'marker, including means adapted to be engaged by the piece of leather and movable thereby, and connections operated by the movement of said movable means for timing said starting means. 4

6. In a machine of the kind described, the

combination with detecting mechanism to detect the thinness of a piece of leather to be grade-marked, of a grade-marker mechanism responsive thereto, and means for.

starting the marking movement of said marker mechanism, including a roll adapted to be lifted by the piece of leather when the latter is to be marked, and connections operated by the raising of said, roll for timing the starting ofsaid starting means.

7. In a machine of the kind described, the combination with detecting mechanism to operate on a leather piece, of a grademarker responsive thereto, operating means for said marker, including a clutch, means normally restraining said clutch in inoperative position, movable means adapted to be engaged and moved by the leather piece when ready to be marked, and connections from said movable means for movingsaid restraining means from said restraining po-.

sition.

' In amachine of the kind described, the c at grade-marker responsive thereto, setting mechanism to set the marker according to the ination with detecting mechanism, of athickness of an article to be marked, operatmarked, connections from said movable "means for moving sa d restralmng means from said restraining position, a movable device carried by said restraining. means normally rendering said restraining means operable by said connections, and means actuated' by said operating means for moving said movable device to render said rest-raining means inoperative with relation to said connectlons.

' 10. In a machine of the kind described,

the combination with detecting mechanism,

of a grade-marker responsive thereto, setting mechanism to set the marker according to the thickness of a leather piece to be marked, operating mechanism for said marker, including a spring-impelled clutch, a sprin -actuated restraining device'for normally olding said clutch inoperative, a gage roll movable by the leather piece being graded,. connections from said gage roll to said restrainin device for operating the latter in timedre ationto the gage roll, means for disconnecting said restraining device;

from said connections, and means for actuating said-disconnecting means in timed relation to the marker,

111 In a machine ofthe kind described,

the combination with Jdetecting mechanism,-of a aide-marker responsive thereto, setting mec anism to set the marker according to the thickness of a leather piece to. be marked, 0 crating mechanism for said a marker, in uding a spring-impelled clutch,

moasva a spring-actuated restraining device for normally holding said clutch inoperative, a gage roll movable by the leather piece being graded, connections from said gage roll to said restraining device for operating the lat-" ter in timed relation to the gage roll, a latch normally rendering said restraining device operative by said connections, and means actuated by said operating mechanism for moving said latch from said normal position after each marking movement ofthe marker: 12. In a machine of the kind described, the combination with detecting mechanism, of a grade-marker res onsive thereto, setting mechanism to set t e marker according to the thickness of the stock to be marked, operating mechanism for said marker, including a spring-impelled clutch, a springactuated restraining device for normally holding said clutch inoperative, a latch mounted on said restraining device, a gage roll adapted to be lifted by the stock being graded, connections from said gage roll to said restraining device, including a dog movable in the path of said latch for actuating the restraining device, and means actur ated by said operating mechanism aftereach marking movement of the marker for disengaging said latch from said dog.

v.13. In a machine of the kind described,

the combination with detecting mechanism,-

of grading mechanism, governed thereby including a reciprocating'marking die, a pinion for raising said dle, a clutch for driving said pinion, a cam plate for stopping said clutch, a latch carried by said cam plate, means engaging said latch to hold the cam plate in inoperative position, a tripping lever for moving said latch to disengage said engaging means, and means on said pinion for actuating said tripping lever When said die has accomplished one marking movement. I a

14. In a machine of the kind described, the combination with detecting means, of grading mechanism governed thereby, including means having a sudden swingingmovement tending by reason of its momenresponse to said detecting mechanism with said sudden movement, and momentum-retarding means arranged to prevent the false moves of said marking mechanlsm when being set. i

In testimony whereof, l have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

v ELMER P. NICHOLS.

Witnesses:

' GEO. H. MAXWELL,

WALLACE A. SHIPTON. 

